You are Failing as a Leader | The Edge

As a leader in your organisation you are undoubtedly seeking continuous innovation and intimacy particularly where it matters most, with your client. This against the backdrop of extraordinary competition and seemingly endless stakeholder expectations.

Adriaan Groenwald, leadership expert and the managing director and co-founder of Leadership Platform, in his article (http://www.thepost.co.za/12-reasons-why-you-are-failing-as-a-leader-1.1657679), poses some daunting questions, “Are you currently struggling to turn around your organisation, if you are really honest with yourself? Do you often find yourself lost in your thoughts, many of which are negative, with doubts about your ability to lead your organisation successfully? If you are starting to achieve some success, are you confident that this will be long-lasting, or do you actually know deep down that it was luck, or at best a temporary improvement, enough to make you look successful for now at least? Do you lead an organisation that when looked at factually, constantly underperforms, yet you don’t feel responsible, for whatever reason?”

Adriaan then asks for a reality check suggesting 12 reasons for leadership failure. There are reasons that focus on personal attributes, yet two stand out for me. They require a significant shift in consciousness:

You don’t have the humility to make yourself vulnerable, admitting you really don’t know everything, and this is why you do not constantly and honestly engage your team and others around, below and above you for input. This is also why you don’t make enough time to walk the floor and engage those individuals in your organisation that are closest to its essence, and

You have not fully realised that values drive people’s behaviour, and if you have, for some reason you don’t strive tirelessly to create a values driven organisation. Perhaps you even fall short of remaining true to your own set of values, which should match those of your organisation.